San Antonio FC Ties Orange County SC 2-2 in Regular Season Finale
October 15, 2022 – United Soccer League Championship (USL) – San Antonio FC News Release
SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio FC drew Orange County SC 2-2 tonight in the regular season finale, moving the team to 24-5-5 with 77 points in a record-breaking regular season.
With the draw, SAFC ties the league record for wins in a season, and sits second all time in points.
Orange County opened the scoring, striking in the 25 minute. SAFC answered in the 43rd minute, with Ignacio Bailone scoring his sixth goal of the season to make it 1-1.
Orange County answered back in stoppage time to make it 1-2 heading into halftime.
Just moments into the second half, Cristian Parano scored his first goal of the season to tie the match at 2-2.
SAFC has a bye for next week’s Western Conference Quarterfinals, with the club next playing on Friday, October 28 in the Semifinals. San Antonio will host the match, with an opponent still to be determined, at Toyota Field at 7:30 p.m. CT. Tickets are on sale now at SanAntonioFC.com or the SAFC app, with the match also broadcast on ESPN+ nationally.
Scoring Summary:
OC: 0-1, Brian Iloski (Assisted by Kevin Partida) 26′
SAFC: 1-1, Ignacio Bailone (Assisted by Justin Dhillon) 43′
OC: 1-2, Michael Orozco (Assisted by Korede Osundina) 45+1′
SAFC: 2-2, Cristian Parano (Assisted by Samuel Adeniran) 46′
Disciplinary Summary:
OC: Yellow Card (Brent Richards) 12′
OC: Yellow Card (Ashton Miles) 14′
OC: Yellow Card (Erick Torres) 45+3′
SAFC: Yellow Card (Shannon Gomez) 45+3′
OC: Yellow Card (Bench) 45′
SAFC: Yellow Card (Jasser Khmiri) 61′
OC: Yellow Card (Tommy McCabe) 90′
SAFC: Yellow Card (Jordan Farr) 90′
SAFC: Yellow Card (PC) 90+3′
Attendance: 8,015
SAFC Starting XI: GK: Jordan Farr; D: Jasser Khmiri, Fabien Garcia, Mitchell Taintor, Connor Maloney, Shannon Gomez (Carter Manley 45′); M: Cristian Parano (Elliot Collier 71′), PC (captain), David Loera (Mohammed Abu 45′); F: Justin Dhillon (Santiago Patiño 45′), Ignacio Bailone (Samuel Adeniran 45′)
Substitutions not used: Grant Makela, Nicky Hernandez
Postgame Notes:
SAFC moves to 24-5-5 on the season with 77 points, leading the USL Championship.
SAFC finishes the regular season tied for league records in wins (24) and shutouts (17).
San Antonio’s 77 points on the season are the second most in a season in league history, trailing only Phoenix’s 78 from 2019 for the league record.
Ignacio Bailone’s goal in the 43rd minute was his sixth of the season, moving into a tie for the third-most on the team.
Justin Dhillon’s assist on Bailone’s goal was his eighth of the season, leading the team and the second-most in a single season in club history.
Cristian Parano’s goal in the 46th minute was his first of the season.
SAFC moves to 24-0-5 when scoring this season, and 3-5-4 when the opponent scores first.
Quotes:
Head Coach Alen Marcina
(On the win and entire regular season…)
“For me, a quick reflection more on the entire season – being regular season champs, which is first in club history … It’s an incredible achievement. Not many clubs can ever say that, or go through many years without the opportunity to state that they were regular season champions. So, I’m so proud of the collective, and when I say the collective, it’s everybody. The fans, front office, ownership, technical staff, coaching staff, medical [staff] and players. Also, since everybody has chipped in, it’s the reason for our success, and it’s something that’s a moment and opportunity to celebrate. Collectively, everybody has earned it and after a day or two the focus is on the playoffs.”
Forward Samuel Adeniran
(On the team’s attitude …)
“The vibe in the locker room is good. We would have liked to break the record today, so I guess going back in, and obviously not winning, we’re never going to be happy when we don’t win. But you have to look at the bigger picture, by recognizing we are the best regular season team, best team in the USL this whole year, and best team in Texas for the whole year, in my opinion. So, the vibe in the locker room may not be the happiest right now, but it will get better, once we go through the playoffs.”
Forward Justin Dhillon
(On if this year’s team feels different than past seasons…)
“I think that we’ve developed a culture here. And it’s just been ingrained … we had a lot of returners come back so we’ve experienced that culture, that Alen’s created with us. And every year that we progress that culture becomes stronger and stronger and stronger, so I think it’s developed on what we’ve done in the past, and you’re seeing it culminating in what it was always meant to be.”
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